...“Walk This Way” to “The Show Goes On”: The Progression of Rap Compared to other genres of music, rap is considered to be pretty new. Rap, or hip-hop, is constantly evolving, as do other types of music. Rap is simply described as, “talking in rhyme to the rhythm of a beat” (Hip Hop). When rap was getting started, it only consisted of DJs mixing some beats together along with beat boxing and sampling other songs. As the years went on, people decided to rap over the beats and create a perfect rap song. Some rappers are lyrical geniuses, while others make music purely for a good party song. The radio does not do a good job of playing a variety of rap, now a days mainstream rap that is only good for dancing is being played on the radio. Mainstream rap, to some, would not be considered good music purely because the lyrics are extremely basic. Artists like Run-DMC first started the phenomena, Tupac and Biggie Smalls made rap extremely popular, and present day rappers like Lupe Fiasco keep advancing the music. Run-DMC was not the first rapper to start, but he is a big reason why rap is so popular today. Run-DMC was a hip-hop group located in Queens, New York, and is widely known to be the most influential acts in the history of the hip-hop culture. They were the first group in the genre to have a gold album, and to be nominated to the Grammy Awards. In 1982, Run-DMC released “Sucker MCs” which was a huge hit. Allison Smith illustrates, “This blast of rhythmic minimalism...
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...History of Rap Rap Music, a genre of R&B that includes rhythmic poetry put over a musical background. The background consists of beats combined with digitally isolated sound bites from other recordings. The first recording of rap was made in 1979 and the genre began to take notice in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Though the name rap is often used back and forth with hip hop. The name hip-hop comes from one of the earliest phrases used in rap on the song “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”. In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also formed other methods of expression like break dancing, graffiti art, a unique slang vocabulary, and fashion sense. Rap started in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx area of New York City. The birth of rap is, in many ways, like the birth of rock and roll. Both originated in the African American community and both were first recorded by small, independent record labels and marketed towards, mostly to a black audience. And in both cases, the new style soon attracted white musicians that began performing it. For rock and roll it was a white American from Mississippi, Elvis Presley. For rap it was a young white group from New York, the Beastie Boys. Their release “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” (1986) was one of the first two rap records to reach...
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...English 10 Hip Hop Music And Culture Although rap music is stereotyped as being violent and a bad influence, it may surprise you that the album The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem, was one of the fastest selling albums ever. It dropped in 2000 and sold 1.76 million albums in the first week. Rap , also called hip hop ( a term coined by Keith the Cowboy) is defined as not only being a type of music but also as being a culture or a way of life. As music its defined as talking in rhyme to the rhythm of the beat. As a culture hip hop is defined as “ A culture, a way of life for a society of people who identify, love, and cherish rap, breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti(The History of Rap, 1). Rappers are also called MC’s, which stands for master of ceremonies. The are four elements to rap music, rapping, Djing/scratching, sampling, and beatboxing. The last three more pertain to the beats and background music. Rap is very important to many people not only is it their way of life, but it is also one of their emotional outlets. Hip hop started to rise in popularity in the late 1960’s in the Bronx of New York. It was said to be started in clubs and at block parties when Dj’s started to break down and loop percussion breaks of popular disco songs, but they also used funk and souls songs. At this time rappers were predominantly African Americans and Puerto Ricans. One of the first Dj’s was Dj Kool Herc. Where he performed is sometimes called the birth place of rap; 1520 Sedgewick Avenue...
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...unapologetic attitude, rap music is the voice of urban culture. Rap music gives people the confidence to do and say how they feel. It pushes boundaries, even in uncomfortable situations. It expresses the harsh reality in urban and rural cities in such a artistic and realistic way. It is not just about the energetic instrumentals or the catchy metaphors , it’s about the content. Rap music touches on subjects like politics, sexual exploits, and personal uniqueness. It is considered to be the perfect example of postmodern music. It’s affect on American culture is phenomenal. Rap is not just a genre of music, it is a lifestyle. From the clothes people wear, to the way people talk, rap is more than the...
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...Wednesdays, 10:30am-1:30pm 311 Level: * Jonathan Chism, chism@rice.edu, Office hours: Thursdays, 1:00pm-4:00pm * Darrius Hills, darrius.d.hills@rice.edu, Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1:00pm-4:00pm * Jason Jeffries, joj1@rice.edu, Office Hours: Wednesdays, 9:00pm-12:00pm Course Description: Understanding religion as the “Quest for Complex Subjectivity” or more simply the effort to make life meaningful in complex ways, this course explores the relationship between Hip Hop culture and religion. That is to say, this course is concerned with discussion of the ways in which Hip Hop culture discusses and provides life meaning in complex ways. This will be accomplished by: (1) discussion of the history and content of Rap Music; (2) examination of religion in rap music; (3) exploration of the religious...
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...there are many different genres of music. There are many types of music for anyone. Country and Rap music may be two most popular types of music. Many people who like country dislike rap music and the other way around. Many people who listen to rap would never listen to country or ever admit to it. On the other hand people who listen to country may enjoy some rap music. In each type of music, they have many sub-genres. There also are many stereotypes that are associated with these different genres of music. Many people think that country music and rap are completely different but they do have some similarities. Country music originates from the southern states. Country music has been around longer than rap music. Country music started to get popular in the 1920’s whereas rap was started in the 1970s. Many people who dislike this kind of music think it’s a bunch of hicks singing about how they lost their girlfriend, dog or truck. Most country songs tell stories, beginning, middle and end. Unlike rap music, many country songs do not include cuss words or very few of them. Rap music contains many cuss words and sexually explicit lyrics. Also where Rappers sing about drugs, country singers sing about drinking beer. Some believe country singers are only white; in contrast there are some Black Country singers. Rap music was first started in New York City. Rap music consists of rhyming and relies on technological tricks to sound good. Most rap singers sing about money and all...
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...Research Evaluation: The Behavior of African American People through Hip Hop Music Papi Jean Florida Memorial University Introduction The Growth of Hip Hop in America As hip hop continues to grow into a major aspect of the modern African American culture, the studies intend to distinguish the mass outlook of black people in America. It is incredible that this single genre of music has transformed into a vital communication mechanism for an entire race and may even become larger in future generations of African American people. The other races, in America, have gotten an idea of African Americans through the controversial rap music in which black people use to communicate with each other, and outsiders; the non-blacks. The study revolves mainly around the attitudes which have deemed as common in the black culture; rap music has always been open for interpretation which can lead to danger. The music has become so popular and influential to the youth that many crimes have been linked to the music which fuels an efficient form controversy in America. Do people receive the negative aspects of rap more than the positive aspects? If so, then why? Also, why are the positive approaches of hip hop not made commercial rather than the sex, drugs, and violence? There is belief that the music has a great influence on how the other races in America view the black culture. It is not certain whether rap music is more negative than positive, but it is obviously a notorious topic for many...
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...Introduction Music has been a part of American culture since the early sixteenth century and during that time period musicians had the freedom to use their music as a medium to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas without the threat of restraints or punishment. In this day and time, musicians are held to a totally different standard because some people perceive music as being a form of art and literature while others view music as being immoral and detrimental to the Christian principles that are so prevalent in our society. Music censorship was introduced in 1927, by way of the Radio Act, which prohibited the use of obscene, indecent or profane language on radio airways. In 1934 the Federal Communications Commission was created by Congress and at this point, censorship encompassed not only music but all public mediums for artistic expressions. Censorship has been used as a tool to suppress artistic expressions from entertainment to literature and even though the First Amendment affords us the right to freedom of expression, censorship still has the power to dictate how we express our thoughts, feelings and ideas. The debate over censorship deals mainly with the First Amendment and whether or not it is constitutional for opposing groups or individuals to impose their beliefs upon our fundamental right to exercise freedom of speech. Music censorship has become a mainstream social issue because our right to freedom of expression is infringed upon and rap music has been targeted...
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...4PM Research Paper The genre of music called “Hip Hop,” originated back in the 1960’s with the help of a Jamaican native and Dj, named Kool Hurc aka, Clive Cambell. Since the evolution of hip hop, the style of music has become one of the main branches of an artistic culture that consists of b-boying (break dancing), graffiti, and MC-ing. All of which have tremendously influenced many aspiring artists, their physical images, the ever-changing sound of hip hop, and other elements that relate to the hip hop culture. A lot of people claim that hip hop and rap can only be about violence, aggression, sex, and money in order to sell or be popular. Another view on hip hop and rap is that it’s too violent, and inappropriate to audiences. That it’s not even music but just a bunch of crap, when in reality, it’s like poetry. The lyrics that artists write come from personal experiences, and perceptions of what they see in the world they live in. Hip hop and rap is more than just music. One of the primary sources I found is a review/article published in “The New York Times” called “The Uncluttered Hip-hop of De La Soul”, written by Peter Watrous, in which Watrous critiques the performance and the group De La Soul at a show. This review of Del La Soul is relevant to the history of hip hop course because it makes a point in which gives an argument for positive recognition of not only De La Soul, but other hip hop groups with similar style of music. These groups don’t write about sex,...
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...hip hop and rap, which today Shakespeare is revilevent. Shakespeare poetry had a rhythm, most of the poetry Shakespeare performs was at a open stage some what like Gallo. The poetry that were being read had a beat that went with the lyrics so there was a rhythm that made it sound better than ever. Shakespeare poetry were in iambic pentameter which means “the number of syllable in the line and the emphasis placed on those syllables”. This is relevant because rap and hip hop involve poetry the lyric which are written by the artist/musician. Shakespeare was important to history because without poetry there wouldn't be iambic pentameter and if there wasn’t iambic...
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...LATONIA ALFRED ART/100 RAP MUSIC IN COMPARISON TO SYMPHONY MUSIC LATONIA ALFRED ART/100 RAP MUSIC IN COMPARISON TO SYMPHONY MUSIC Rap Music in comparison to Symphony Music Rap Music, a form of Pop music that includes rhythmic poetry put over a musical background. The background consists of beats combined with digitally isolated sound bites from other recordings. The first recording of rap was made in 1979 and the genre began to take notice in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Though the name rap is often used back and forth with hip hop. The name hip-hop comes from one of the earliest phrases used in rap on the song “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”(Asante 109) In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also formed other methods of expression like break dancing, graffiti art, a unique slang vocabulary, and fashion sense. Rap started in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx area of New York City. The birth of rap originated in the African American community and was first recorded by small, independent record labels and marketed towards, mostly to a black audience. Rap music was created out of the needs for people to express their inner most feelings and emotions. The rap culture emerged after the African American Civil Rights Movement at the end of the 1960s and in the early 1970s...
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...How do I Connect to Hip Hop\ Rap music? The way I connect to hip hop music is not the same as the author article opinion of hip hop music and black females, Its a positive tool to me. This paper will explain my point of view as a black female that have lived and learned much of what the rappers are raping about, in this generation. The rhythm of the beat in Rap music is what I enjoy the most; When I began to feel the beat I become one with the music ; and notice that my body began to rock unconsciously. Some people many not enjoy the lyrics of rap music because they don't understand the message or the language that rappers speak. when people don't understand rap/ hiphop music they should not downgrade the artist or their music, before they educate themselves about the music, style and history of the artist....
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...For the past for decades rap music has put under the spotlight for potential effects of violent media on youth social behavior. Firstly from a historical perspective rap music is grounded in the African and African American culture. Rap is basically oral language mainly set against a musical background and this dates back to early African societies who used the tradition to entertain and educate audiences in tribal history and current events (Powell, 1991). In American societies rap music can be found in early versions of Jazz and R&B music and has been a traditional form of contest among inner city African American dwellers (Dyson, 1993; Herd, 1994). Modern rap music originated in the 1970’s in the lower class neighborhoods of New York City...
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...hear the music. With its history deeply rooted in the music styles of West African griots, the elements of hip hop represent the suffering and painful journey slaves faced. The culture of DJing, rapping, graffiti and breakdancing was later integrated into this new music genre. As a result, many stereotyped hip hop as music that was particularly popular among blacks, which could be affiliated with radical black groups and gangs. Even today, many hip hop songs are negatively known for their message about drug use, sexual desires, and violence. REACH is a dance team affiliated with Rutgers University that focuses on the glorification...
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...SHELBY HARDIN ENGLISH 1113 SPRING 2014 DR. RUDOLPH RAP HERO CHUCK D. The year 1984, there was a new force on the rise in the music industry; rap. This early form of Rap was no more than some random dude on the mic at the house party going “check one, check two!” That was followed by a long descriptive rant about how awesome he was and what made him so awesome. The content of early rap was boastful and party oriented. The climate of the country was the feeling the leadership was attacking the low income communities. The Republican Party had such a delusional perception of the low income community. True drugs were being dealt daily in the ghetto. Not everyone agreed about who was doing the dealing, the government or local criminals with little resources to obtain the imported cocaine. In the mist of this mistrust and hopelessness came a rap group who was willing to take on the establishment and tell the truth about the Black American Experience. That group was Public Enemy. The front man of the group, Chuck D, the D is for dangerous; was the role model missing and needed in the black community. Chuck D whose real name is Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, said the one thing that had happened to start the group’s mission and became the true focus of the music came about one day when Chuck D was walking around his home area of Roosevelt New York with a Malcolm X t-shirt from back in the day. When a 13 year old boy walked up to Chuck D and asked him why was he wearing a ten...
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